Board of Directors Meeting Minutes
August 10, 2013
Freedom Hall, Fort Wayne, IN
Executive Director Jay Jackson called the meeting to order with the Pledge of Allegiance at12:06pm. Those in attendance were: Region 00-Ray Bodle; Region 01-Wayne Kopec; Region 02-Don ‘Bear’ & Jude Hewitt; Region 03-Rodney Walker; Region 04-Kay & Ron Hurst; Region 06-Fred & Tina Spencer; Region 07-Ken Harris; Region 09-Mo Kintner; Region 10-Darla Abel & Dick Jones; Region 11-Pat Haggard; Region 12-Dave Hawkins; Region 13-Paul ‘PD3’ Douglas III; AdComm Gino Johnson; LINC Mike Meyer; Editor/Publisher Marc Falsetti; Operations Director Gary Williams; Secretary/Treasurer Tina McCormack. Regions 05 & 08 previously notified they would not be attending.
ITEM 1: Marc distributed an overview of website/database issues & suggested revisions. He detailed the problems we’ve encountered, & the many hours we at the state office have spent testing & correcting issues with the database & website since our launch in late May. Marc then explained the revisions made by Fusion Alliance, the vendor we contracted with in June to correct issues created by 3id’s website/database creator, our original vendor for the project. Discussion followed.
(MOTION 1)
ITEM 2: With no questions regarding March/April financials, Tina requested a motion to approve.
(MOTION 2)
Tina reviewed May/June financials, & explained the student reimbursement billing process.
ITEM 3: Jay extended an invitation to the group to explore the bingo hall, & stay for bingo.
Gary reported that charity gaming revenues have increased year-to-date over this period last year. He stated that the Indiana Gaming Commission has begun levying the full amount of fines to organizations that do not comply with charitable gaming laws & reporting requirements. Gary reminded the board to call the state office or Gino if they have any questions regarding charitable gaming.
ITEM 4: Gary stated that attendance at LCRP continues to be strong. MAXC racing series wants to help with trail maintenance this fall.
Gary, Roy Garrett, Mike Meyer, & Mike Gibbs recently had the opportunity to discuss on & off highway riding with Congressman Todd Young.
Jay announced that we are hosting a trails conference at LCRP the same weekend as our Fall Seminar. The Confederation of Clubs (COC) will rent the main stage area of LCRP for an event on September 28th.
ITEM 5: Jay reviewed fatality numbers for off-highway vehicles (OHV) year-to-date.
ITEM 6: Jay reported year-to-date motorcycle fatality figures; they’re about half what they were this period last year. However, moped fatalities are up as compared to this time last year.
We are looking for a rider ed site in the Elkhart area, as the property that hosts our current site is for sale. The owner of the property where our Lafayette site resides notified us last week that work at the property will begin soon, & we will need to vacate at that time.
ITEM 7: Jay announced that our Ride with the Governor will take place on Friday, October 4th.
We are in the process of establishing our legislative agenda. Discussion followed regarding a possible dead red bill, & chip & seal surfacing on state highways.
Jay will be attending an interim study committee hearing for driver education this coming week. Jay received from a scooter owner, a memo from the BMV stating that the BMV will no longer register scooters. The definition and requirements for operating a scooter are still too confusing & contradictory. ABATE of Indiana will host a Scooter Symposium in the Indianapolis area on September 5th.
Mike Meyer reviewed their (Mike, Gary, Roy & Mike Gibbs) visit with Congressman Todd Young. He reminded the group that legislators feel it’s very important to meet with their constituents. They discussed the fact that there currently are no tax incentives for property owners in the State of Indiana to lend the use of their property for rider education. Wayne questioned if it would be beneficial to lobby for a law that would relieve a property owner of potential liability when their property is loaned for rider education courses. Discussion followed.
Mike announced that this year’s LINC Ride is October 5th, the day after our Ride with the Governor.
Jay announced that Wayne Wierson has requested additional expense reimbursement for Meeting of the Minds (MOTM). Discussion followed; no one opposed. MOTM is in Columbus, OH this year.
ITEM 8: The Advisory Committee (Kenny Casey, Rod Taylor, & Dave ‘Frosty’ Frost were unable to meet) met earlier today. Kenny visited one of the applicants for our 2014 ABC State Charity. The Board of Directors (BOD) will vote for the 2014 charity at our meeting in November. All other topics discussed during the Ad Comm meeting have been or will be discussed in this meeting.
ITEM 9: Jay updated the group on our May is Motorcycle Safety & Awareness Month (MSAM) event on the circle in May. While we do not receive much publicity or media exposure from this particular event, ABATE of Indiana, rider ed, & awareness have been featured in newsletters from organizations including the Indiana Department of Transportation, Indiana Criminal Justice Institute, & Indiana National Guard. The US Military Vets Motorcycle Club from Camp Atterbury attended our MSAM event on the circle this year.
While the Membership Committee is not in attendance today, they continue to monitor our membership numbers. Jay added that one area we might look to encourage new members is motorcycle dealerships. The Membership Committee is working to implement that.
Jay thanked the Boogie Committee, & the BOD for their work in curtailing expenses at Boogie this year. Several ventures by other organizations are struggling financially. Discussion followed regarding the number of events competing for attendance & revenues.
Rodney will begin accepting requests for 2014 dates for Tiny Tots after the Fall Seminar. Tina reminded directors that when festivals request our Tiny Tots at their event, the festival should include ABATE of Indiana on the insurance for that event, & provide us with a COI.
ITEM 10: Jay announced dates for Fall Seminar & Awards Banquet; November 9, 2013 & February 22, 2014, respectively.
ITEM 11: Jay requested volunteers to help with MotoGP & Motorcycles on Meridian this coming weekend.
Jay then conveyed a request from Region 08 to build a shed behind the Region 08 shelter house at LCRP. Discussion followed.
Jay is planning to change the structure of the Site Coordinators’ meeting. We will host that probably in January of 2014, rather than the Sunday after Fall Seminar. We will resurrect Directors’ Prep on that Sunday this year.
Jay plans to attend the International Motorcycle Safety Conference on October 16-17.
Tina asked the directors to submit their Workers’ Party invitation list to the state office no later than September 13th.
ITEM 12: Executive Session.
(MOTION 3)
Meeting adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
Tina McCormack
Secretary/Treasurer
The next scheduled BOD meeting is October 19th at LCRP.
MOTIONS
Motion 1: Rodney motioned, & Mo seconded, to authorize Fusion Alliance to complete the restructuring of our database & website, not to exceed $70,000; all regions present in favor, motion carried.
Motion 2: Bear made the motion to approve March/April financials; Ken seconded. All regions present in favor, motion carried.
Motion 3: Ray motioned that the BOD convene in Executive Session; Rodney seconded. All regions present in favor, motion carried.
